Savinho's Illness Disrupts Manchester City Plans Ahead of Community Shield

Enzo Maresca’s plans for his first piece of silverware at Manchester City have hit an early snag.

With the Community Shield against Arsenal looming in Cardiff, highly rated winger Savinho missed City’s latest training session at the City Football Academy, with The Athletic’s Sam Lee reporting illness as the reason for his absence. No injury, no transfer stand-off – just bad timing for a 22-year-old on the brink of a huge season.

While Savinho stayed away, the cast around him told a very different story.

Jack Grealish was back in the thick of it, pushing to make his first appearance for City in over a year after a long, frustrating spell on the sidelines. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and January signing Marc Guehi were all involved too, each staking an early claim for a starting place in Cardiff as Maresca shapes his first competitive XI against the Gunners.

The Savinho subplot, though, stretches well beyond Sunday.

His absence comes as Tottenham close in on what they hope will be the headline act of their attacking rebuild. Roberto De Zerbi is edging towards his primary forward target, with Spurs understood to be nearing a full agreement for the £60 million-rated Brazilian. Interest from north London has been intense, and the clock is ticking.

Tottenham have already torn up the script of the last two seasons. After back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, the mood at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has flipped from damage control to outright aggression in the market.

They started by ripping into the spine of their defence. Martin Dubravka arrived to strengthen the goalkeeping department, Andy Robertson brought experience and bite at left-back, while Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke were added to stiffen the back line. Once the rearguard was rebuilt, the money moved into midfield.

Spurs then made their biggest statement of the summer, dropping a combined £185 million on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. Two marquee signings, one clear message: the middle of the pitch is no longer a weakness.

Now comes the final act – the attack.

To make space for a deal like Savinho, Tottenham are preparing to cash in on some serious assets. Cristian Romero is close to sealing a move to Atletico Madrid, while Djed Spence is on course for a switch to Inter. Those exits are designed to open up the financial room required to truly test City’s resolve.

That is where this gets tricky. City’s hierarchy are unlikely to roll over for a direct domestic rival, especially without a replacement lined up. Savinho’s illness might be a simple short-term issue, but his long-term future is anything but straightforward.

So Spurs have drawn up a Plan B.

Cody Gakpo is high on that list. The Liverpool forward is admired at Hotspur Way for his versatility and output, but prising him away from Anfield is a different level of challenge. Journalist Ben Jacobs has reported that Liverpool would be reluctant to sanction Gakpo’s sale unless they can secure multiple attacking reinforcements first, a condition that piles complexity onto an already delicate pursuit.

The deadline is closing in, and Tottenham’s summer still has one major question hanging over it. Does De Zerbi get Savinho, does he pivot hard for Gakpo, or does this ambitious rebuild reach the finish line with one piece missing?